Nils Boese, Jägermeister Global Brand Ambassador talks about the German bitter liqueur and how to use Jägermeister in cocktails.
Jägermeister with Nils Boese – Photo © Cocktails & Bars
When you think of Jägermeister, the first thing that comes to mind is shots. But there’s more to the herbal-bitter liqueur than a party drink, explains Nils Boese. During his visit to Sydney, Nils Boese, Jägermeister Global Brand Ambassador hosted a series of masterclasses aimed at extending bartenders’ knowledge in getting creative with the German bitter liqueur.
Jägermeister with Nils Boese
Nils owns Manhattan Bar in Hildesheim, Germany, a 12 seater bar with no menu and some 800 spirits. He calls it his office, his home, and when he’s not there and travelling the world, the bar is closed.
He begins by trying to define the taste of Jägermeister, a task many people struggle to describe. “It tastes like friendship,” he says. Like many liqueurs that have survived longevity, little is revealed about Jägermeister. It has 56 ingredients, four macerates which are blended in oak barrels to harmonise the flavours and contains 135g of sugar per litre, way below several amari.
I ask him if the brand is moving away from the image of shots. “We’re not trying to change that,” he affirms. “We always want to stay number one in shots but we can create drinks for a different customer experience”.
How to Use Jägermeister in Cocktails
When it comes to cocktails, Jägermeister can lighten or suppress specific flavours. “Any cocktail where you use bitters, you can use Jägermeister at a different ratio,” he explains. For example, it can be used in Planters Punch instead of Angostura, in Tiki drinks in place of a splash of absinthe, and in the Manhattan and Rob Roy.
The Count Mast cocktail is a take on the Negroni, made with equal parts Jägermeister, gin and sweet vermouth, stirred on ice and served up without ice. It’s light, less sweet and not as bitter as a traditional Negroni. Truth is, it is delicious. Expressing lemon peel over the drink makes it a little sweeter and enhances the bitter end note.
In a Dirty Martini, he recommends gin, vermouth and equal parts of Jägermeister and olive brine with a lemon peel. For an Old Fashioned (see above), he mixes bourbon with a generous amount of Jägermeister and a splash of Cointreau stirred over ice. The drink is given sufficient dilution then served without ice.
Taking a different direction, he prepares a light and refreshing afternoon drink with equal parts Jägermeister and a tea such as Rooibos tea with vanilla, lime juice and a little maple syrup, shaken strained with a squeeze of orange. The drink highlights the soft tannins in the tea along with cinnamon and orange notes of the liqueur.
Other cocktails include:
- Huntress Swizzle – Woodford Reserve, Jägermeister, sour apple, black walnut bitters
- Pretty Amber – a take on the Gimlet with London dry gin, roses lime juice, fresh lime juice
- Jagerreye Old Fashioned with Old Forester, Jägermeister, Cointreau, lemon zest
- Wake Up Call, Jägermeister and cold brew coffee
Nils is a little shy of giving out exact recipes. It’s about engaging bartenders and inspiring them to make their own creations instead of following a formula, he explains.
This article was originally published on August 28, 2017 on our sister website Gourmantic.
